Memories of Tom Dildine

I was surprised and saddened to learn that Tom is no longer with us.

Tom joined us in the Collection Development department during a period when a fair bit of office-shifting and changes in responsibilities were taking place in ODY. It was a stressful time. but he did his best to navigate some unusual reporting/supervisory relationships. He often cheerfully stayed late to handle large-scale print jobs for students who were running behind schedule.

He had quite the green thumb, and quickly turned his corner of our department into a jungle of happy, healthy plants; not an easy thing to do in a space where there’s very little natural light. Tom was a person of deep faith, a bargain hunter extraordinaire, turned out some darn good deviled eggs for our office potlucks, and spoke of his mother and his daughter often and with love.

Even after he moved on to a position in Office Services and then retired, a running joke between us was sharing links to products related to bacon that didn’t actually involve food: scented candles, perfume, socks, air fresheners, Band-Aids that look like strips of bacon, pet Halloween costumes, you name it. It’ll feel strange not being able to share the bacony goodness with him the next time I come across something he’d enjoy.
Michelle Gillie, Library